Janitors and the ministerial exception

In discussions of the “ministerial exception,” which limits the scope of employment lawsuits against churches and related groups over some jobs important to their mission, the typical example often given of a job not covered by the exception is janitor. Eve Tushnet wonders why that is (scroll to “custodian of souls”; earlier on the pending Supreme Court case, Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC).

3 Comments

  • It’s interesting for me to read that other countries have this “ministerial exception” in employment law as well. I’ve only come across it in Germany so far.

  • A sexton or shammes is expected to have religious allegiance and knowledge. But I suppose the exclusion of “janitors” refers to other church-owned enterprises, eg day-care cneters and hospitals.

  • My parents retired as custodians for the LDS Church. They were required to maintain Temple Recommends (Member in Good standing, current on Tithes, etc) to be Church Custodians.

    No one without a temple recommend is allowed in an LDS Temple, including contractors, janitors, and food service workers. My parents weren’t Temple custodians, just regular meeting house custodians.